KENT, Wash. – In an action-packed and high-energy bout, Caros Fodor simply had more behind his punches and a tad more energy as he scored a unanimous-decision victory over fellow lightweight James Terry.

The bout headlined Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 16 event.

The Showtime-televised event took place at ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., and the night’s main card aired on Showtime.

While closer than the scores might indicate, the fight nevertheless had a clear winner. By continually pushing forward, engaging the action, doing more damage and simply proving quicker to the punch, Fodor earned the judges’ nod.

Terry’s best shot at victory came late in the fight, when he briefly secured the mount position before delivering a flurry of punches from half guard. It was a nice late rally for the fellow prospect, but it simply was too little too late, and Fodor never was in any serious jeopardy during the attack.

In the end, the judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Fodor.

“I was definitely working on my striking a lot,” Fodor said. “We had a great strategy, and I saw it out.

“This is four in a row for me. I’d like to start fighting the contenders and working my way up.”

Not only does he own a four-fight win streak, Fodor (11-3 MMA, 4-0 SF) is 11-1 over his past 12 fights. Terry (10-3 MMA, 5-2 SF), meanwhile, suffers just his second loss in seven Strikeforce fights.

Ricehouse spoils Couture’s Washington homecoming

Despite being every bit the prospect his opponent is, Matt Ricehouse was overshadowed by opponent and native Washingtonian Ryan Couture in the buildup to their co-main-event fight.

But with an impressive and well-rounded offensive attack in a fast-paced lightweight bout, Ricehouse earned a unanimous-decision victory to keep his perfect record intact while delivering crowd favorite Couture his first pro loss.

Although a relatively close fight, Ricehouse scored knee strikes, counter-punches and takedowns at key times. After a tight first round that the judges ultimately scored for Couture, Ricehouse took control in the final two frames with an impressive all-around display. He specifically credited octagon control for the win.

“I tried to own the middle (of the cage),” he said. “It seemed to work, but man, it wasn’t easy.

“I’ve got a lot to work on so that I can be a better all around fighter, but I’m improving every fight.”

Ricehouse (5-0 MMA, 3-0 SF), who turned pro just 17 months ago, is already 3-0 in Strikeforce. Couture (2-1 MMA, 2-1 SF), the son of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, moves to 2-1 as a pro after a 5-1-1 amateur run.

Larkin scores come-from-behind win

Takedowns and a smothering top game slowed him in the first round, but Lorenz Larkin remained upright after that, displayed his trademark flashy striking, and even scored a late-fight takedown of his own to score a come-from-behind victory over fellow light heavyweight Gian Villante.

Larkin, who mixed in effective jabs with stinging leg kicks during his striking-heavy outbursts, simply wore down his opponent and stole back the fight’s momentum.

In the end, all three judges gave him the second and third rounds for the 29-28 victory.

Larkin, though, admittedly is still a work in progress.

“He picked me up like I was a little girl,” he said of Villante, a former state high-school wrestling champion. “He was tough. He took me down that round, but I had to fight back.

“Gian is one of the stronger guys I’ve fought so far, so it’s a testament to my toughness to come in here and earn the victory.”

Since a surprising release from the UFC after just one fight, Jason High now has won five consecutive fights. His latest came over KOTC welterweight champ Quinn Mulhern in one of the night’s more anticipated matchups.

After a competitive and action-packed first round, High controlled the action in the second, easily scored takedowns, and delivered some heavy shots from the top. Mulhern, who spent most of the round on his back, absorbed big shots from the ground and pound and suffered a bothersome cut above his right eye.

Up two rounds to none, High scored another quick takedown in the third, battered Mulhern with punches when he got back to his feet, and then easily slammed him back down to the mat. The final takedown, which sent Mulhern’s head bouncing off the canvas, put the exclamation point on an efficient and decisive victory.

In the end, all three judges scored it 30-27 for the clean sweep.

Despite the clear-cut victory, High downplayed his performance.

“I thought my hands were a little better, but I wasn’t getting off like I needed to,” he said. “I need to work on some things.”

Julia Budd suffered a quick TKO loss to Germaine de Randamie in a previous Muay Thai bout, but she got her revenge in the night’s first Showtime-televised main-card bout (and first women’s bout under Zuffa LLC ownership).

But those expecting to see fireworks from two noted strikers likely were left disappointed, which was evidenced by the cascade of boos that followed Budd’s unanimous-decision victory.

Budd, who suffered a quick 14-second loss to Amanda Nunes in her previous bout, put her new wrestling skills to work against de Randamie. She scored takedowns with relative ease, mixed in some decent shots from the top, and quickly shook off the effects of a stiff punch in the third round to survive earn the victory via scores of 29-28.

A chorus of boos followed the official verdict, though they likely resulted from the minimal action and not the judges’ scores.

“She hits hard, so I wanted to wrestle,” Budd said. “I know it’s not the best to watch, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

“I tried to take her down and ground and pound her, but she was good at neutralizing the fight once we got there … so I had to take advantage every time I had an opportunity.”

Budd (2-1 MMA, 2-1 SF) puts her first career loss to behind her with the victory while de Randamie (2-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) falls to .500.

Brunson, Pamplona and Berry victorious in prelims

In the night’s featured preliminary-card attraction, Derek Brunson (7-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) easily handled fellow middleweight Jeremy Hamilton (8-1 MMA, 0-1 SF), scored multiple knockdowns in the second round, and largely controlled the action on the mat for a decision victory. All three judges scored the lopsided fight 30-27, which resulted in Hamilton’s first career loss.

“All of my fights have been first round finishes so far, so it felt good to know what three rounds feels like.,” Brunson said. “I would have loved to finish the fight, but he’s a tough guy.”

On paper it was a complete mismatch, and once in the cage, the fight proved no different. IFL and M-1 vet Eduardo Pamplona (15-2 MMA, 1-0 SF) battered little-known welterweight Jerron Peoples (1-1 MMA, 0-1 SF) from the opening bell en route to a TKO victory. The stoppage, which came from the mount position and pushed Pamplona’s win streak to 10 fights, came at the 2:40 mark of the second round.

“The referee made a good decision in stopping the fight,” Pamplona said. “I was landing some good hard shots and he wasn’t doing anything to stop me.”

In the night’s opening bout, the referee missed Keith Berry’s tap-out and ultimately allowed him to go unconscious in a technical-submission loss to fellow light heavyweight Trevor Smith. After attempting a kimura to no avail, Smith transitioned to a north-south choke to get the hard-to-watch victory in the second round.

“It felt great to go out there and hear the crowd cheering me on,” Smith said. “I love being able to fight in front of my hometown fans.”

A scheduled fight between welterweights Sterling Ford and Charon Spain was scrapped prior to fight time.

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